Do you speak Globish?
Most of the people who visit this web site have English as their first language; apparently some 354 million people worldwide speak English as their first language. However, not all my visitors are native English speakers; around 1.5 billion globally speak English as a second language.
I confess that this web site makes no concession to non-native English speakers in the language it uses on the site, although it very deliberately contains a fair amount of material pitched to an international audience, whether it be politics or travel or how names are chosen in other cultures or how to say “Good morning” or “I love you” in other languages.
However, when I’m actually speaking to people for whom English is not their first language – something I do often because I enjoy talking with people from other countries and travel quite a lot – I do modify significantly how I speak. I slow down my delivery; I shorten my sentences; I simplify my vocabulary; and I avoid the use of idioms and proverbs.
It seems that, without knowing it, I am in effect speaking a version of something which has been dubbed Globish (pronounced ‘globe-ish’). According to this fascinating article, the term was coined by the Frenchman Jean-Paul Nerriere. The article suggests that: “Globish is not ‘pidgin’ or ‘broken’ English but it is highly simplified and unidiomatic.” Nerriere states that: “Globish is ‘decaffeinated English, or English-lite’.”
Nerriere – the author of the book “Parlez Globish” and the web site Le Globish – promotes Globish not as a rival to other languages but as a means of communicating clearly and easily with others around the world. He comments: “Globish does not want to be French or German. If you want to read Shakespeare or Harry Potter, learn English. If you want to do business, learn Globish. There is no competition. Each is a distinct concept.”
The Oxford English Dictionary lists a huge vocabulary – larger than most other common languages – of 615,000 words, while Globish has a vocabulary of only 1,500 words. So, on the face of it, Globish should be an attractive proposition – but will it happen?
I don’t think so. English has too much going for it: 2,500 years of history, a vast treasure trove of books and films and songs, and use by the global power of the day as well as all international institutions. Instead I see a trend – led by American English and the speech used by young people on the Net and in text messaging – to simplify both the spelling and the grammar of English. while the richness of the English vocabulary and idoms will remain for use in serious journalism and literature.
Am I rite or wot?